View full sizeThe Associated PressFlags are placed at the National September 11 Memorial at the World Trade Center site in New York during a ceremony marking the 11th anniversary of the attacks .

Take 5 minutes to catch up on parenting articles, with anxiety over after-school schedules, what scientists say about fathers' influence on children and a new study that links postpartum depression and children's stature.

9/11 anniversary: Few of today's elementary school students were even alive on Sept. 11, 2001, and yet the terrorist attacks continue to affect them. How do you talk with your kids about the historic event? And how do you cope with the anxieties they may feel? The Washington Post's Janice D'Arcy shares helpful advice from David J. Schonfeld, director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement.

Teens: A high school prostitute scandal should come as no surprise to parents. That's what Washington Post columnist Petula Dvorak says anyway. Need a little background? A group of DeMatha High School football players reportedly hired prostitutes during a recent road trip to North Carolina, despite the careful watch of their chaperones. Dvorak writes, "What's new in this old-as-time story is that today, thanks to smartphones and the nearly complete submersion of the sex trade into the digital swamp, ordering three prostitutes to your hotel room is as easy as ordering a pizza." Dvorak says the incident should remind parents how important it is to have frank discussions with their teens about sex, prostitution and pornography.

Fathers: Judith Shulevitz, science editor for The New Republic, has written a fascinating piece for the New York Times. "Why Fathers Really Matter" looks at how expectant fathers mold babies, and "not just by way of genes."

Cruel month: Call it the lament of modern parenthood, and file it under "why do we do this to ourselves?" Any parent who's felt the panic of managing kids' school and after-school activities and the transportation calisthenics required for each can relate to the post "Why September Can Be The Toughest Month For Working Mothers" from Laura Rowley. After a play-by-play that will make your head spin, Rowley reflects on her mother's experience.

"My mother, who had 11 children, was expected to attend exactly five school activities a year: fall open house, holiday concert, science fair and twice-a-year teacher conferences -- all of which were held at night. She was never invited to read to the class, or come to the Halloween parade, or watch my presentation when I dressed up as Jo from 'Little Women.' But for my generation it's 'attachment schooling' -- we're expected to be there for everything, and then manage all the after-school enrichment that will catapult our children into respectable colleges."

Depression: A new study links mothers' postpartum depression with their children's height, or lack thereof. According to a recent study published in Pediatrics, children of moms who report postpartum depression were more likely to be shorter than their peers once they reach preschool. Alexandra Sifferlin explains the research for Time Healthland.